RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons used an elite offensive performance to blow out the University of Northwestern (Minn.) 96-77 on Tuesday night at Page Arena. UW-River Falls led by as much as 39 midway through the second half in large part due to shooting over 64 percent from the field in the first half and 5-9 on three pointers. They also played tough defense to only allow 30 percent shooting from the field in the opening 20 minutes and held the Eagles to 3-13 shooting on three pointers. 

Julian Jackson stole the show with 24 points in 23 minutes, including 8-9 shooting for 18 points in the first half. Tate Hebrink was a steady force at point guard with all 10 of his points coming in the first half on only five shot attempts. Nathan Macho, Jr. also continued his run of strong play with 9 points and 4 assists off the bench. 

UWRF hit their first four shots of the night to quickly jump out to a 10-2 lead and found themselves up by as much as 15 points only seven minutes into the game. The Eagles managed to keep it just within double digits for the next few minutes, but two straight shots from Matt Keller pushed it to over 20 points with under six minutes left in the half. Jackson's fadeway jumper went in before the buzzer to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the half at 54-31 as they entered the break.

The Falcons didn't take their foot off the pedal after halftime and went straight into a 20-5 run that stretched their lead to 38 points after Alex Ohde finished at the rim to make it 74-36 with almost 15 minutes remaining. Keller knocked down 3 three pointers in the opening minutes of the half to add to his 19 points. Six different players were able to knock down shots from beyond the arc for the Falcons, and they shot 10-22 overall. Jackson made a layup with eight minutes remaining to maintain an 89-56 lead, but the Eagles finished the game on a 21-7 run after UWRF emptied their bench in the closing five minutes. 

Northwestern was led by Brady Bellefeuille with 13 points on 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Tanner Youngberg also contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds. With the win the Falcons improve to 4-1 on the season. They will next play in the much-anticipated U.S. Bank Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday. They are scheduled to tip off against St. Thomas at 6 p.m.